The Storm Rises
by kittytail88
Summary: Lost tags, a crush, and some romance. *almost rape*


Scout was having a rough week. He's been killed hundreds of times on the field, he had a date but the guy stood him up, his crush for the crazy, piss loving Australian still wasn't going away, and he had lost his tags. The one thing he never takes off and protects with his life was gone.

Scout was currently wondering the base, looking in every nook and cranny for his lost tags. He's looked in all the common rooms, and he was currently searching in one of the closets when he heard a thick, Australian voice behind him.

"What are you doin', Mate?"

Surprised, Scout jumps and hits his head on one of the shelves he was looking under. Holding his aching head, he turned around and glared at Sniper.

"I'm lookin' for ma tags."

"How'd you manage to lose those? You wear them bloody twenty-four seven."

"I fuckin' know, ya jackass. I woke up this morning and noticed they were gone," Scout snapped.

Sniper held up his hands and said, "No need to be grouchy at me."

Though Scout wasn't listening anymore, he was already down the hall and turning a corner, off to search other parts of the base.

TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2

2Fort was growing darker as the day progressed. It seemed as if a storm was rolling in. clouds were blocking out the sky and a howling wind blew through the base.

Scout was still looking for his tags, but he was no heading back to his room to search for them there again when a loud crash sounded though the base. Scout immediately froze up and darted his eyes around. Another crack set him into motion, darting into the nearest closet and curling up. His hand went up to his neck but froze half way up when he remembered that his tags were gone. The comforting weight of the metal was gone, and Scout had nothing left to keep him sane. He curled up on the floor of the closet and tried to make as little noise as possible. To think he had gone to 2Fort for the weather, it was supposed to be one of the calmer bases, and instead he was getting fucked by it.

Flashes of memory crossed Scout's mind. A dark rainy night, an alleyway, a loud bang, a falling body, screaming, a clinking of metal.

Scout clutched his head, pulled his hair, and clenched his eyes shut. Desperately trying to get rid of the images that were appearing in his head, but nothing was working. Soon, he started to sob quietly.

TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2TF2

Sniper was making his way through the base, he had just gotten back from the field, and was making his way to Scout's room while tossing some metal into the air and listening to the clinking sound that was made when it fell back into his hand, when a noise caught his attention.

He turned towards a closet door and listened closer. His reward was a soft sob just barely making its way through the door. He couldn't believe his ears. One of these mercenaries was crying in a closet?

Sniper slowly and quietly opened the door and couldn't believe his eyes, curled into a ball on the floor lay the base's Scout. Sniper stood in shock until he noticed that Scout was hurting himself.

Closing the door behind him, Sniper went into the closet and knelt next to Scout. He gently grabbed Scout's arms and removed them, wincing internally when he saw a few hairs fall, and slowly moved Scout onto his lap. He second guessed himself when Scout tense up at the contact, but Scout slowly started to relax and cling onto Sniper like a life line.

Slowly the sobbing returned, and as it raised its ugly head came a stuffed face into Sniper's neck. Sniper held onto Scout tighter as the smaller man began to shake harder as the storm continued on.

Not knowing what he could possibly do to calm down Scout, Sniper asked, "What can I do ta help you out, Love?"

Scout sniffled several times before he softly spoke into Sniper's neck. "First, did you just call me 'Love'? Second, cou…could you find my tags?"

With a slight shiver going down his spine, Sniper answered, "Well, that's what I was tryin' to find ya for. I found them lyin' out in the field."

Reaching into one of his pockets, Sniper pulled out Scout's dog tags. Taking one of Scout's hands, Sniper placed that tags in it.

Scout could feel the relief lowing through him as his hand clasped around the cool metal. Slowly taking his head away from Sniper's neck, making sure to keep his face down, he smiled slightly as the metal clinked against each other as he pulled them over his head. Wiping his eyes, Scout averted his head from Sniper.

"Look, I'm sorry about that. And I, ah, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell the other guys about, ah, about this," Scout whispered.

Sniper scratched the back of his neck as he said, "Look, Mate, I don't know why you were in here crying like that, but I won't tell the guys if you don't want me too." He took a deep breath, steeled his nerves, and asked, "Maybe it would help if you talked about it to someone?"

Scout jerked back and whipped his head around to face Sniper. Confusion fluttered in his eyes.

"Are you saying you want to listen to me?"

Sniper pulled his hat over his eyes as he blushed, stuttering out a small, "That's one option, I suppose."

Scout's mouth dropped as he couldn't believe what he was hearing. The Sniper, the hardcore Australian, was saying he wanted to listen to Scout. He couldn't believe this was really happening.

Moments of silence reigned in the small closet that they occupied. Soon Sniper stood up and coughed, breaking the silence.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'll just leave you by yourself. You probably would rather talk with one of the other guys anyway."

Sniper reached for the door and started to open it when, suddenly, a weight glomped onto his back, and arms circle and lock into place around his waist. Sniper steadied himself on the closed door, surprise shooting through his mind.

Scout buried his face into Sniper's back and whispered, "I wouldn't mind talking with you."

Sniper turned around in his grasp, easily taking Scout by surprise, and tilted his head up. Sniper leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

Pulling away slowly, Sniper breathed, "I would love to listen to you."

Scout took a step back and ran a hand over his face, leaving his hand over his mouth, and asked, "Can we get out of this closet first?"

Sniper smiled and took Scout's hand, leading him out of the closet and to Scout's room not twenty feet away. Scout opened the door and sat on his bed, taking deep breaths to steady himself for what was about to be said (also from the fact that Sniper kissed him).

Sniper watched as Scout steadied himself, eventually saying, "Look, Love, you don't have to tell me if you're not ready."

Scout breathed out slowly, "I might not be, but I want to tell you. I should be fine, it happened years ago."

Sniper sat next to Scout and took his hand. "Alright, Love. Take your time."

Scout took a final deep breath and started, "During freshman year of high school, so a few years before I got this job, one of my older brothas died. The oldest brotha. These are his tags." Scout brought his hand up to the tags sitting around his neck. "It should have been me," he sobbed.

Sniper wrapped his arm around Scout and pulled him into his lap, trying his best to comfort Scout.

Scout took another deep breath and continued, "Everyone liked him, he was a likable guy. He had a great life, but I was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

***Flashback***

A young Scout walked down a street in Boston, on his way home from school. Passing an alley, he heard a loud noise filter out. Turning to look into the alley, he saw a group of guys harassing someone. Scout ran in with his bat and cracked it over one of the harasser's heads.

"Get off of 'em!" a lanky, small Scout shouted.

The group of guys turned toward Scout, forgetting about their previous target; who had run away.

"Look what we got here, boys. A little hero," said the guy whom Scout had bashed, blood running down his face.

The guys each pulled out a knife and advanced on Scout. Scout tried to attack again, but they were ready this time. As the bat came down, the leader grabbed it and pulled Scout forward. When Scout got close enough, the leader grabbed him by his hair and pulled him up.

"That's not gonna work again. You know, boys, this one doesn't look half bad. Maybe we should have some fun with him first. If you know what I mean."

Scout's eyes widened in horror, and he started to struggle more, not caring if he pulled out a few hairs.

The leader pulled him closer and spoke into his ear, "This is going to be very, very painful, but it could be over in a flash if you don't cooperate."

He pulled out a gun and pressed it against Scout's head. Scout whimpered lowly, scared shitless. There seemed to be no escape for him, and a storm was picking up.

Suddenly, he was going down. Landing roughly on the ground, he looked up and saw his brother holding back his assailment. He couldn't help but to smile, even as he was slowly growing drenched and a storm waged on around them.

Scout slowly got up, preparing to help his brother, when a shot rang through the air. Scout's head shot up and his eyes locked with his brother's. Scout watched as the life drained out of his eyes and he collapsed onto the ground.

Scout stared on in horror as what just happened sank in. A horrid scream escaped his lips, and agony seeped through his soul.

***End Flashback***

"The last thing he ever said to me wasn't even spoken aloud. It was a mouthed 'I love you'," Scout finished in a defeated tone.

Sniper held him closer, his heart hurting as he felt Scout shake in his arms. "You know what, Love. I'll stay by your side and remind you that the storm isn't that bad.


End file.
